Far from a typical robust defensive midfielder, Medunjanin is Bosnia's main
man tasked with connecting the attack and defence

Main man: Haris Medunjanin, right, will always put in plenty of hard graft without getting the credit he deservesPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

By Slaven Niksic, World Cup Nation: Bosnia

10:49AM GMT 10 Feb 2014

If you need goals there's Edin Dzeko. If you're looking for a quality attacking midfielder Miralem Pjanic will do just fine. If a solid goalkeeper is required Asmir Begovic is your man. These players are all synonyms for quality in their defined positions, not only for Bosnian football but on a global scale. But what about those unglamorous players who put in the hard graft and often don’t get the credit they deserve?

For Bosnia that man is Haris Medunjanin and coach Safet Susic simply adores him – for good reason.

You see, we really are not a complete team. As Susic often points out, we are only strong if all our major players are fit and healthy. If one of them is missing, we are in trouble. What is most worrying is that Medunjanin is our only defensive midfielder and, strangely enough, he is more adept at in an offensive role.

Playing for his club sides AZ Alkmaar, Sparta Rotterdam, Real Valladolid, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Gaziantepspor, Medunjanin has occupied a more offensive than defensive role. But for Bosnia his mission is based around blocking opposition attacks from the other end of the pitch. And he has become rather good at it.

Yes, you can sometimes see that he lacks speed and agility, but he tries to cover all that with his strength and ability to pass the ball precisely.

So why has Susic chosen to deploy him in such a role? You could argue that that our head coach just likes him as a person, as a disciplined footballer, but there is definitely more than that. Susic prefers skilful players with style and Medunjanin is just that – far from a typical robust defensive midfielder, he can quickly shift to offensive mode with enemy goalkeepers feeling the force of his powerful left foot. With Medunjanin, you really get two players in one.

What about the other options? Elvir Rahimic is getting old at 37 and the other solution for the position in question has all but disappeared since Adnan Zahirovic joined German second division side Bochum – where he is not exactly having a great time.

In a way Susic has no choice but to play with Medunjanin as the key player who connects the attack and defence. The Gaziantepspor man will be the Bosnia player to watch at the World Cup, especially against Nigeria and Iran rather than the opener against Argentina where he will likely be deployed in as defensive a role as ever.

Medunjanin is more than aware of his responsibility, but Susic could well do with finding another player that can play alongside him. Stronger opponents, reckons Susic, will certainly take advantage of the tactic to only use one defensive midfielder.

Medunjanin is used to such hard work, but Brazil will serve up quite a challenge.